Chris Parker(old)

Ok - nice story, thanks for sharing all of that with us!

At any rate, the purpose and goal of the I-751 interview is that the applicant and spouse have actually been living as a bona fide married couple.  To make that determination, they ask for various proofs that you have been living together and have established some co-mingling of assets and liabilities.

Frankly, the story you presented us tends to support that conclusion.  Knowledge of his debts, and any amounts of his debts that you actually paid could serve as credible evidence of the marriage.  Your reasons for avoiding joint ownership and liabilities seem fine.

If I were an examiner and heard this story of your situation, I might expect to see most or all of the household income and expenses (and particularly his expenses) are in your name and flowing through you.  For example, is the lease in just your name because he had bad credit and/or not enough income to qualify?  Can you show some other way that he actually lives with you?

My husband and I will be celebrating our second year anniversary this coming September, which will entitle us for IR-1 visa. However, all our documentations, correspondences and fee bills coming from NVC were showing CR-1 visa category (obviously, we have not reached our 2-yrs anniversary yet). Is there anyway that we can request for this change before his interview in US Embassy in Manila and/or POE?

There is just a "201(b ) Spousal" immigrant visa. Look at the top of the I-130 petition. There really is no CR-1 visa as you may be led to believe by the NVC forms.

Conditions depend on whether you have been married for less than 2 years at the time you are admitted into the U.S. (date of entry/resident since) as to whether your permanent residence will be conditional or not. Surely, if you've reached your second year anniversary by the time of immigrant visa interview, it might be worth mentioning that to the consular officer (as I believe the 2-year anniversary also, under separate rules, eliminates some suspicion that the marriage might not be bona fide). But even if your visa issued before your 2-year anniversary, and your 2-year anniversary falls during the 6-month validity of the visa, and you arrive in the U.S. after your 2-year anniversary, you should be admitted into IR-1 status.

In any case, if you arrive in the U.S. after your 2-year anniversary, check the status code under the I-551 stamp they place in the passport in the airport, to be sure it says IR-1 and CR-1. In the worst case, if you get a permanent resident card with CR-1 and a "Resident Since" date after your 2-year marriage anniversary, you can and should apply for a replacement card at no charge because it was Service error. This is all because there is no legal authority to admit into CR-1 status after the 2-year marriage anniversary; you no longer meet the defintion of "alien spouse" under INA 216 at that point.